


I Fell In Love With a Ninja Master

by saltyhanzo



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Blood, Fighting, M/M, Ninjas - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-06-05
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:16:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltyhanzo/pseuds/saltyhanzo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The dorky, clumsy British guy from the Roosterteeth office? Yeah, turns out he wasn’t any of those things, it was all a façade. All he could really say is that there were ninjas working at Roosterteeth, and that might have been cool if he hadn’t accidentally gotten himself caught up in it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Fell In Love With a Ninja Master

  
  
  
  


“Gavin we seriously need to talk.”

 

Gavin was sitting atop his kitchen table. He had a bottle of whiskey to his left, a spool of thread and a bloody cloth, and in his hands were a needle a thread that he was using to stitch a cut on his left shoulder. Michael watched him stick the needle through his inflamed skin and immediately looked away, not wanting to watch the gnarly procedure. When Gavin was finished, he poured some of the whiskey he had next to him on the wound, grunting slightly at the burning, before taking a large gulp of the stuff himself. He wiped up the excess blood and moisture with the cloth.

 

“Can it wait until morning? I’ve had the worst night.” He stretched out his injured arm, wincing at the way the stitches were pulled with the flexing of his skin. He had some dark red bruises all across his left ribs and side as well. “Bit of a doozie, and I’d like it if I could just go to sleep. I’ll answer any and all questions about it tomorrow, ‘cause I feel like shit, Michael.”

 

Michael hesitated to respond, knowing very well that he could get his ass kicked. “Yeah, whatever, just talk when you feel like it.” He watched the blonde man walk quietly to his bedroom, not looking back once. He had absolutely no intention of talking with Michael, and he knew it.

 

\----------------------------------------

 

Gavin was a ninja. He went out around the city of Austin fighting criminals and people at night, stalking them in the shadows before he made a move to hurt them or try and land them in prison. Geoff was his mentor, already having served his time as a ninja master, he was retired from it, and glad to be, but even then, he took Gavin under his wing and taught him new things, passed down old swords, throwing stars, and random shit that Michael had no freaking idea about. All he could really say is that there were ninjas working at Roosterteeth, and that might have been cool if he hadn’t accidentally gotten himself caught up in it.

 

Everyone was asleep as he sat down in Geoff’s living room, looking at all of the swords on the wall. Gavin’s personality wasn’t fake or anything, he was still the same person, he was just not who he claimed to be in the beginning, and that freaked Michael out. It’s not like he lied about who he was, he just never said it, and it was supposed to be secret, but he was beginning to wish he hadn’t started hanging out with the man outside of work to begin with. He only found out after being knocked out by a poison dart shot at him from Gavin’s arch-nemesis. He buried his face in his hands, it was ridiculous. When it had happened, Gavin jumped out of his seat, picked Michael up, and without giving any concern to the man that hurt him, quickly dragged him into the bathroom to give him an antidote to the poison. “Michael,” he had said, “You’re probably going to pass out.”

 

\--------------------------------------

 

_“Michael, promise not to freak out.” Gavin said, a worried expression on his face._

_“Wha-” Michael croaked, shocked by the hoarseness of his own voice. He was in Gavin’s bed. Geoff handed him a glass of water. He took it gratefully, feeling the liquid rejuvenate his vocal cords. “What happened, what’s going on?” He asked, all too aware of the way his body ached, as if he had been electrocuted._

_Geoff and Gavin shared a sideways look as Michael sat up, resting his back on the headboard. “Michael you were just poisoned by my worst enemy, because he saw you with me, and it’s all my fault, I’m sorry.” Gavin spit out quickly, eyes unable to meet Michael’s. “I gave you an antidote as soon as I saw the dart in your neck, but you got hurt and it’s all my fault, I tried to chase after him, but I didn’t even see him do it, I just recognized his dart, Michael, please forgive me.”_

 

\--------------------------------------

 

Well, that’s essentially how that went, and of course he forgave the big-nosed dumbass, he technically saved his life, and it was great, but learning that your best friend is a ninja and being attacked by his arch-enemy in the same day is stressful, to say the least, and stupid him had to go and keep hanging out with the guy to the point that he got targeted at his own home, and that also was why he was currently at Geoff’s in the middle of the night, sulking about how Gavin would not speak to him.

 

He sighed, then got up to go to the kitchen and grab a beer. Gavin was gone most nights, but he came home early on this one, presumably because of his injuries. He wanted to go knock on his bedroom door and speak with him,  but he didn’t know how to do it without pissing the guy off, or screaming at him in annoyance. Instead he got up and knocked on Geoff’s bedroom door.

 

He heard a muffled, “Hmmph-wha-” a woman’s voice, and then heavy footsteps before the door opened. “Mmwhat’s up Michael.” The tattooed man rubbed his sleepy eyes.

 

“Hey Geoff, look, sorry for waking you-”

 

“It’s fine,” he responded, “What do you need?”

 

“I wanted to ask about Gavin.” Michael pursed his lips, waiting for Geoff’s reply. The man sighed and held up a finger, closing the door. A minute later he came back with a shirt on and a beer in hand, leading him to the table.

 

“What’s up, what do you want to know,” Michael looked about ready to burst, and something about the way he held himself amused Geoff.

 

“That stupid fuck was stitching himself up on the table and wouldn’t even tell me about it! What the fuck, Geoff? Is it so secret that he can’t talk to me, he’s only the fucking shithead that’s forcing me to have near-death experiences every goddamn ten minutes, so if you could please shed some light on this whole fucked up situation for me, that’d be awesome.”

 

Geoff sighed. “I don’t know, Michael, why would I know? Look, all I can say is to try and talk to him-- when he’ll let you,” he managed to get in, holding up a hand before Michael could interrupt him, stopping the redhead mid-speech. “All I know is that lately he’s been going out looking for Ray.”

 

Michael was confused. “Ray? What the fuck is he-”

 

“His arch-nemesis.” Geoff could almost see the gears in Michael’s head spinning out of control.

 

“Are you telling me that Ray is the one fucking trying to kill me every day? Oh that’s fucking it, I’m gonna beat the shit out of that little-Urgh!”

 

“Hey, no, you can’t do that. He’s a sly bastard, and cunning. It all started when he hadn’t been at the office for a while for some unknown reason. Gavin and I knew he had been studying some dark arts before then, and suddenly he started attacking Gavin all the time, sneaking into the office where no one would notice, trying to stop him from doing his work duties- protecting people at night, and he quit Achievement Hunter, but I guess now he sees that you’re a part of Gavin, so he tries to kill you too.” Geoff took a sip of  his beer. “All I’m saying is that Gavin can’t defeat him, and neither can you, man, so don’t try.”

 

“I can’t believe it’s Ray... I mean, it makes sense, but still.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. He was literally powerless here, and he hated that. There were more questions he wanted to ask, but really he just wished he could talk to Gavin. “Alright man, thanks. I’ll just, sleep on the couch or whatever.”

 

Geoff nodded. “Night.” He started walking back to his room, then stopped at the entrance and turned around, “Look, don’t worry about Gavin, okay? He’s a strong kid.” He closed the door behind him, probably getting ready for a long night of sleeping in.

 

Michael sighed and went to the couch, taking his hoodie and pants off. He had found out about Gavin’s vigilantism weeks ago, and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that the stupid British fuck needed someone on his six, watching for trouble that he might miss. He didn’t want to see Gavin getting hurt just doing his job. It sucked even more to realize that his job in the Achievement Hunter office was only his day job, and sometimes he still couldn’t wrap his head around it. It didn’t make sense to him when he would find the guy bandaging himself, or cleaning a wound, dressed in all black, save for his face, which was almost always uncovered in the house, and always around Michael. He never let Michael see him in his full gear.

 

Michael turned over on his side, facing the back of the couch, his blanket scrunching up in front of him as he did so. He sighed. He didn’t feel like fixing it, he just felt like ignoring everything and not sleeping, and not dying all at the same time. He closed his eyes, feeling his thoughts begin to drift, and he thought he might finally get to sleep, then he suddenly heard something, and he shot his eyes wide open, still facing the back of the couch.

 

_Okay_ , he told himself. _Keep your breath steady, you’re still asleep_. He didn’t know why he felt threatened, but an alarm was going off in his head, and his entire body was on guard. He thought he had heard a very soft footstep, almost like a cat’s paws, scampering across the wooden floor, but only one step. Every instinct in him was telling him that something, or someone was close to him, and he had no choice but to stay as still as possible. He unintentionally tensed up as he felt the air shift around him. He squeezed his eyes shut.

 

_Crack._ The sound of wood hitting wood really freaking hard sounded just above his head. He took this moment to jump over the back of the couch, standing up behind it in a fighting position, ready to take out whoever was trying to attack him. He saw a shirtless Gavin and a figure dressed in all black facing one another.

 

Gavin shot him a concerned look, asking if he was okay, and he nodded back, more worried about the armorless ninja that held nothing but a wooden sword. Sure, those things were pretty capable, but the guy with his back to Michael had a blade in his hand, that could slice skin.

 

Before Michael could blink, the man lunged at Gavin, knocking him to the ground. Geoff ran out of his bedroom at the noise to see what the racket was about, and quickly jumped into action, grabbing a pair of nunchucks off of the umbrella stand by the door. He swung one handle over his shoulder and back, testing the grip, and waited for the right moment to attack the man in black. Gavin kicked up with his knees, ending the struggle the other man was making for his neck, hitting him across the chest with his wooden sword, and knocking him back up onto his feet.

 

Geoff swung the nunchucks, one of the handles coming up just under his armpit before he lashed out, hitting the man twice on his shoulders, disarming him, and then once in the center of his chest, effectively knocking the wind out of him. He was still struggling to get up, so Michael took the chance to grab the guy by his neck, capturing him in a headlock, and Geoff and Gavin, slightly out of breath, walked up to the struggling man. Geoff gave Michael a friendly punch on the shoulder as Gavin pulled the guy’s mask off.

 

“Chris! What the bloody fuck are you doing attacking us at two in the morning- _on a Wednesday?_ ” Gavin asked skeptically.

 

Geoff pushed Gavin out of the way, knowing he’d never be serious after seeing Chris’ face. “Are you working for Ray?” He asked. Looks like he had someone to fire when they got back to work tomorrow, or, more appropriately, in about eight hours. Attacking your boss murderously was pretty high on the list of things that would get you terminated in a normal business.

 

Chris snorted. “Yeah, he’s trying to kill Michael, or Gavin. Gavin owes him. Big. ‘A life for a life’, he said.” He took a deep breath and elbowed Michael in the ribs as hard as he could, catching the three men off guard. He grabbed for his sword and swiped it at Michael one last time, barely touching the redhead with the blade tip, before Geoff lashed out at him with the nunchucks, driving him back. He smirked at the three of them, Michael who was doubled over, and blew a kiss, retreating from the window he entered the room with.

 

Geoff ran to check his bedroom, making sure his wife was safe, and Gavin ran to Michael, holding him upright. “ _Mi_ chael, are you okay?” He asked, eyes etched with concern.

 

“Yeah Gavin, I just got bashed in the ribs, and sliced up, but _I’m fucking okay_!” The redhead glared at him, trying to keep a straight face when he saw the almost-hurt look on Gavin’s face. “I’m good, man, He didn’t cut me deep, just a bit, nothing that won’t heal.” Suddenly, against every protest he made, he was being dragged to the kitchen table, and forced to sit on it. The British man held up a hand  telling him to stay, before running off to the kitchen to get paper towels, bandages, and antibiotic ointment. Michael might have been annoyed if it weren’t for the fact that Gavin was so worried and flustered, and it was a different side of him, one that he’d actually never seen, despite all the times he’d almost been killed.

 

Gavin got back to the kitchen table to see Michael still there. Good. He’d been worried the man wouldn’t take the sword wound seriously. He had to check and make sure it was just a normal cut. “Michael, I’m sorry this happened under my watch. I need you to take your shirt off so I can look at it.”

 

Michael couldn’t help it, he turned a bit red. _Couldn’t he have phrased that a bit better?_ Apparently Gavin realized it too, because he looked sheepish for a moment before shaking himself out of it. The shirt was pulled off, revealing a clean cut that ran from his right shoulder to the center of his chest, obviously just on the surface of his skin, but still pretty bloody. Gavin mentally berated himself for letting this happen to begin with, before taking some of the paper towels and pressing them with one hand against Michael’s chest, holding them there to stop the bleeding. “This is gonna be a few minutes... Just so you know.” Gavin said, feeling nervous. Michael’s heart was pounding, he could feel it, being that close to his chest, and he knew it was because of the fight not long before. Obviously the man had high blood pressure as is, how else would he be able to get so angry all the time?

 

“Yeah, I figured.” He puffed his cheeks and let the air out, wishing he could stop looking at Gavin’s worried eyes. He really felt okay, just sore, but what else could one expect from a fight? Suddenly he got really pissed off. If Gavin had talked to him like he’d asked for to begin with, this might not have happened, or, he may not have been snuck up on like a stupid piece of shit. What’s worse is that he would’ve gotten himself killed just staying still like he was, but it was too late, he would’ve died either way if Gavin hadn’t blocked Chris’ blow, it just fucking sucked. “Gavin, why won’t you let me talk to you?”  
  
Gavin grimaced. “Because Michael, I know what you’re gonna say.”

 

“I just want to learn something, anything. You _know_ self-defense, like, crazy good, Gavin. If you just taught me how to defend myself, maybe you wouldn’t have to be protecting me all the time-ow!” Gavin purposefully dug the paper towel roughly into the cut before pulling it back off.

 

“Bleeding’s stopped.” Gavin murmured, holding out a hand to tell him to stay as he went back to the kitchen to get a wet towel. He came back, sitting in a chair beside him, dabbing at the irritated wound gently, cleaning most of the blood off of his skin. He looked up at Michael’s face to find the man glaring down at him. “I’m not teaching you anything I know, Michael. I don’t even want to know what I know, much less subject you to the life I live more than I already have. Not sure if you’re realizing this, but you’re getting killed because of a terrible rivalry over something, when I’m not even sure how it started, so thanks, but no thanks. Don’t ask me again.”

 

“Gavin, I really don’t like sitting around waiting to be killed the moment you go to the bathroom.” Michael said softly.

 

Gavin turned his face away, not meeting his eyes. He took some antibiotic ointment, spreading it around the cut with a finger. It was pretty deep, but not deep enough to be seriously harmful, so he figured it would be okay. He didn’t want to stitch him up, he wasn’t sure how well Michael’d go for it, so he just put down some cloth bandages and took gauze, wrapping it across his chest. It was a bit dramatic, but it held everything in place. As soon as he was sure Michael was gonna be okay, he turned around to leave.

 

“Gavin,” Michael grabbed his wrist to prevent the man from leaving. “Thanks, okay? And uh, I’ll stop asking, for now, but don’t get too comfortable, All right?”

 

Geoff peeked his head out from his bedroom, taking in the sight of Michael holding Gavin’s wrist, and the younger man looking earnestly into Rage Quit’s big dark, sympathetic eyes, and he gushed a bit on the inside. It was sad and kind of nice to see Gavin so affectionate toward anyone. He just hoped it lasted.

 

Gavin turned around slightly, acutely aware of Michael’s hand on his wrist, burning him with the touch. He gulped, not knowing what the feeling was or what to say back. He nodded back at him. He had a feeling that Michael would be the death of any sense he might have had left in his head. He only hoped it lasted long enough to keep his best friend as tactfully alive as possible.

 

 


End file.
